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Nibali Wins Stage 20 of Giro d'Italia 2013

News & Results

Vincenzo Nibali keeps the Maglia Rosa before tomorrow's final Giro d'Italia stage and looks set to win the 2013 Giro d'Italia Fotoreporter Sirotti

Vincenzo Nibali on his way to victory in the penultimate stage of the Giro d'Italia 2013 Fotoreporter Sirotti

Team BMC Racing's Cadel Evans Fotoreporter Sirotti

Team Sky's Rigoberto Uran Fotoreporter Sirotti

Nibali Wins Stage 20 of Giro d'Italia 2013

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) has put an exclamation point on his victory in the 2013 Giro d'Italia.

The Sicilian surged into the lead in the last three km to win the 210-km, medium mountain stage from Silandro to Tre Cime di Lavaredo in 5:27:41. Fabio Duarte (Colombia) finished second at 0:17, and Rigoberto Uran (Sky) took third at 0:19. Nibali extended his overall lead and will claim victory tomorrow after the 21st and last stage of the race.

Stage 19 was cancelled, and today's stage was rerouted because of snow in the Dolomite mountain passes (as much as three m of it). The Category 2 Passo Costalunga and Passo di San Pellegrino, as well as the Category 1 Passo Giau were eliminated from the course. The climb to the finish, which was initially planned to be a Category 1 ascent, had to be rerouted to a Category 2. The planned 203-km stage became a 210-km one.

The stage was ridden in the snow. After 25 km, Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack-Leopard), Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol), Pavel Brutt (Katusha), and Giairo Ermeti (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) got clear and led the field by more than eight minutes by 65 km. Euskaltel-Euskadi began to chase, and eventually Colombia and Vini Fantini-Selle Italia took charge at the front.

With 40 km to go, the break led the bunch by 3:30 on the unclassified Cimabanche. Cannondale went to the front and began to drive the peloton. With 35 km remaining, the break's advantage was down to three minutes.

Popovych dropped his companions with 23 km left, but Brutt and Hansen returned the favor shortly thereafter. Eventually, Brutt set out on his own. Behind, white jersey Carlos Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale) suffered a mechanical and needed help from his team to rejoin the peloton.

Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge) attempted to catch Brutt. Behind, Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox) and Darwin Atapuma (Colombia) attacked. The Astana-led bunch caught Atapuma, but Pirazzi reached Weening. Later, Gianluca Brambilla (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) and Eros Capecchi (Movistar) bridged up to the move, while Pirazzi was dropped. With nine km remaining, the trio caught and dropped Brutt. Two km later, they led Weening and Pirazzi by 0:42 and the maglia rosa group by 1:10.

At the base of the day's final climb, Capecchi dropped his companions. With four km left, he led them by 0:13 and the maglia rosa group by 0:32.

With a little more than three km left, Nibali attacked. Gradually, all of the heads of state except Cadel Evans (BMC) joined him. The Australian suffered a mechanical that plagued him during the final climb and would cost him his runnerup spot overall.

"He (Evans) tried to resolve the technical issue, but the severe weather and the nature of the problem prevented him from doing so and it cost him valuable time," Team BMC Racing General Manager Jim Ochowicz explained after the stage. "We are still on the podium and tomorrow we need to control to make the race safe and then the goal is reached."

Nibali overtook Capecchi and accelerated again. With two km left, Evans, Rafal Majka (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff), and Duarte joined Betancur and Uran. The three Colombians set out after Nibali, but they need not have bothered. With one km left, the maglia